The Life of a Godfather
by V.Evergreen
Summary: Random oneshots of the time in the lives of Teddy and Harry. Everything from the good to the bad to the all encompassing. Not in order.
1. Chapter 1

It was a brisk autumn day; the last vestiges of summer having just slunk away. Leaves spiralled down from the trees towards the ground and the small and seemingly mismatched family that walked, laughing, through the London park.

A young man with black hair strolled though the park holding on to a small boys hand who couldn't have been older than five. The boy; Teddy Lupin giggled as he tried to kick the piles of leaves that had been gathered around the edges of the path. Holding Teddy's other hand was a woman at the same age as the man; Ginny Weasley soon to be Potter. She had her head thrown back as she laughed at Teddy's glee filled laughter as he managed to kick up a small flurry of leaves and the man; Harry, sent her an amused glance.

All in all Harry decided his life was good. It was still stressful and hectic at times but in a good way. Now he had someone to come home to. He watched as Ginny patiently listened to Teddy's animated retelling of his fifth birthday party just a few days before. He had knew that Ginny would love Teddy, how could she not? However, this went beyond what he had expected, she wasn't exactly a mother figure but somewhere between a mother and an older sister. His lip quirked when he thought that it must be a welcome change for her to have someone to fuss over. He knew that being the youngest of seven with six older brothers meant that she was the receiver of a lot of protectiveness, he should know; Charlie still glared at him whenever he strayed to near to Ginny. It was understandable at first but it was fairly ridiculous given that they had been dating for six years and were engaged to be married.

So caught up in his musings was he that that it took him a minute to notice Teddy pulling at his sleeve,

"Swing!" He pleaded. It was unfair that whenever Teddy pleaded for something at least someone in their oh-so-large family would indulge him with Molly being the worst of the lot. He had had to be careful about how long he left him with her since lest he let his godson be spoiled absolutely rotten.

Still Harry decided as he grabbed one of Teddy's and Ginny grabbed the other, there were worse things for him to be. As both he and Ginny swung their arms and Teddy flew up into the air he shrieked with laughter and both Harry and Ginny soon joined him.

While his life was nowhere near perfect it just made him appreciate more the moments that were.


	2. Chapter 2

"Half-breed scum."

Teddy hadn't seen the man who said as he walked past him. It was a crowded day in Diagon Alley; the streets were full of soon to be Hogwarts student all of whom were bustling through the cobbled street with undisguised excitement in their eyes.

Teddy was one of them. The long awaited day had arrive, the day that he had gone with his Godfather Harry to buy his school supplies and finally be able to say that he owned a wand.

Harry was meant to be beside him but he had been accosted by an old friend and politeness dictated he at least had to exchange pleasantries. Teddy had tried to be patient but in the end the he had allowed himself to be herded by the crowd and ended up looking at a display window a few shops down the street. If he stood on his toes and tried to look over the heads of the crowds he could still just about see Harry.

Because the atmosphere in general had in been so relaxed Teddy did not at first realise the implications of what that one sentence could mean. He turned around in shock and was met with the sight of a filthy man. He looked like he hadn't slept or washed in several days and had a smell about him that reminded Teddy strongly of the stale drink smell that he had come to associate with Mundungus Fletcher; a man whom whenever he had met Harry did his best to steer him away and make they avoided him. Despite his appearance it was his eyes that scared Teddy the most, they were filled with loathing and disgust which together made him look absolutely insane. As Teddy looked at him with wide eyes the man lurched closer and Teddy backed up against the wall of the shop,

"You're that cub of Lupin's aren't cha?" He slurred as he continued to fix Teddy with a crazy stare, "He got what he deserved and I 'spect you will too, filthy half breed."

The man spat at Teddy's feet and turned to walk away.

He first step sent him crashing into Harry who seemed to have materialized though the throngs of people and now stood there with fury etched upon every line of his face.

Teddy watched in disbelief as Harry stood with his wand clutched tightly in his hand and walked the few steps that separated him and the unknown man. Though he was a good half a head shorter he seemed to radiate with pure anger so much so that the filthy man began to fidget nervously.

"Harry Potter! Such an honour to meet you-" began the man whose voice had suddenly become very oily as he extended a hand nervously.

"Shut up!" Harry snarled, effectively cutting him off midstream. Teddy had never seen his mild mannered Godfather so angry and would be lying if he said he wasn't a little afraid of him in that moment.

"If I ever hear you talk to my son, or anyone else for that matter in that way again, I will personally make sure it _never _happens again. Do you understand me?" To accent his words Harry had brought up his wand so that it was no pointing straight into the man's face. Teddy was warmed a little to hear Harry call him his son, he knew he was as good as his son but it was always the 'as good as' that seemed to sting slightly. His mood was brought straight back down when the poisonous words that the man had spoke began to play over and over in Teddy's mind.

,

The man took one look at Teddy who had unconsciously been edging to stand behind Harry sneered and ran away into the milling crowds.

The second he could no longer see the man Harry turned and looked at Teddy with worry in his eyes. Teddy hadn't realised it but his eyes stung and there was a lump in his throat of which it was getting harder to breathe around.

Seeing this Harry knelt down before him so he had nowhere else to look but at Harry.

"Teddy," he began looking him straight in the eye, " there are going to be people in life who are like that man, I won't deny it. But, those people wrong. Your father was one of the best men I knew, that didn't change because of what he was, and he died so that other people could live. Don't you ever listen to what people like that say."

Teddy found himself still unable to talk so instead he just gave a slightly tearful smile.

"C'mon then," said Harry smiling slightly and standing up, "let's go get you a wand."


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks after the war spring was just beginning to melt into summer and the weather was warm as Harry stood on the doorstep of the vaguely familiar house, his arms swinging slightly as he tried to build up his courage to knock on the door.

It took him a while but eventually he raised his hand and knocked twice.

It swung open almost immediately to reveal Andromeda Tonks standing behind it. She had obviously made an effort to make herself presentable but even that couldn't hide that she looked unspeakably tired.

She was a sickly shade of pale, her eyes puffy and red rimmed and her hair hung lank about her shoulders. She was so obviously heart broken that her resemblance to her sister was somewhat hidden.

She didn't say a word to Harry just gestured for him to come in listlessly as though the effort was costing her. She led him through to her living room where for the first time Harry laid eyes on his godson. He was laying in a bassinet in the middle of the room gurgling and humming to himself happily.

It twisted Harry's heart when he saw the baby's hair flash from red to turquoise but at the same time gave him the strangest desire to laugh. He lost all such thoughts when Andromeda walked over to Teddy, scooped him into her arms and went to sit on one of her chairs.

Cautiously, he went to sit on the chair opposite her. When he sat he immediately looked at Teddy; he couldn't believe how small and just how _perfect_ he was. When he had decided to see Andromeda Ginny had offered to go as well and if he were honest he would have been grateful for her company but he had the feeling that Andromeda was barely letting him see Teddy let alone someone else. That and Mrs. Weasley was having one of her bad days, it was better for everyone if Ginny stayed behind and looked after her mother.

"I didn't expect you to come today." She said in a hoarse voice barely above a whisper, Harry looked up surprised that Andromeda had started their conversation.

"Yeah well," he said fidgeting uncomfortably, " I would've come sooner, and I just really wanted to see Teddy."

"I see."

Harry wasn't really sure what to say to this but Andromeda seemed to expect an answer as she looked at him inscrutably all the while clutching Teddy to her chest as if afraid that Harry was going to snatch him away.

"I'm sorry for you loss-" he began.

"Don't. Please don't talk about them." She said in a hollow voice that seemed on the verge of breaking. Utterly at a loss as of what to say Harry went with the option he felt was safest,

"Can I hold him?" He asked hesitantly, he didn't miss the fact that Andromeda seemed to hold Teddy tighter for a second before nodding her ascent. She got up and ever so carefully placed Teddy into Harry's arms before taking a pace backwards but not sitting back down.

Harry noticed none of this for the moment his young godson was placed in his arms the outside world seemed to fade into the background. He held Teddy being sure to support his head and to move as little as possible for fear of breaking the precious being he held in his arms. He was completely in awe of the baby he held and couldn't help but let out a soft laugh when Teddy grabbed one his finger with a surprisingly strong grip for such a small child.

He was quickly snapped out of his reverie when Andromeda spoke again,

"I know you're his godfather," she began in a steady voice, " but you will not take him away from me."

Harry was shocked at the sudden declaration, and slightly unsure on how she had come to the conclusion that this was his original aim.

"Mrs. Tonks, I-"

"No. I'll be damned if I let you take Teddy away." She carried on, her voice taking on a lethal edge and even though he loathe to admit it was highly reminiscent of her older sister, "He is the only thing I have left of my daughter and you have NO RIGHT to take him!"

Andromeda was left shaking by the end of her speech and she glared at Harry as if daring him to try.

For Harry it had all clicked into place, all of the coldness and the open hostility since he had arrived.

Mindful not to jostle Teddy to much he slowly got up and moved to place him in the bassinet. Turning around to face Andromeda he began to see the cracks in her façade: her hands were balled by her side and were shaking but it wasn't from anger, her eyes were suddenly full of unshed tears and the smallest of tremors played about her lips.

Crossing the room he stood directly in front of her and decided that blunt honesty was the way forward in such a situation,

"Mrs. Tonks I'm not here to take Teddy," he paused for a second to let it sink in before continuing, "I want to be a part of his life and I will if you let me, but you're his family and what he's going to need as he grows up is family." Said Harry shooting a glance at Teddy who was laying where Harry had left him waving his chubby arms in the air.

It was obvious when the penny dropped for Andromeda.

One minute she was straight backed and angry and the next she seemed sag; all of the tension fell from her body as she looked at Harry with pure relief on her face with tears threatening to overflow once more.

Harry was never quite sure how it happened but the next thing he knew was that Andromeda was weeping into his chest as she tried to customize to the fact that her family was no longer under threat.

He couldn't pinpoint the moment when Andromeda went from crying in relief that her grandson was not going to be taken away to when she started to sob for all those she had lost but he knew that it happened.

Before the war she had had everything she could have wanted but now she was left with next to nothing.

As he stood there with his arms awkwardly around his godson's grandmother he saw a flash of blue hair from the bassinet and once again he was struck with the inappropriate desire to laugh. It was the simple sight of a happy and innocent child with fantastically coloured hair in the middle of a world that had just seen a horrific war.

It gave him hope that maybe they could get though this.

…

A/N- Thanks for reading, I know this isn't my best work so thanks for subjecting yourself to that. Hope you enjoyed and I sorely need prompts and suggestions, leave a review! Merry Christmas-VE


	4. Chapter 4

In Teddy's mind today was the first real day of the summer holidays as the weekend can't really be counted and it seemed that on this particular day the weather seemed to be celebrating the end of school as well.

It was a beautiful day with the sun shining, clouds lazily drifting across the azure sky and only the gentlest of summer breezes ruffling the leaves on the trees. However, it wasn't really the weather or the lack of school that made so special to Teddy.

It was today that he was with his godfather Harry and his family. Harry had turned up on his grandmother's doorstep that morning and had asked if he could borrow Teddy for the day for a "family outing", his grandmother was all to eager to hand him over for she was an aging lady and found it had to keep up with Teddy when he was at his most hyperactive (normally on such days where the weather was particularly fine and Teddy had nothing to do).

Teddy had tried to get Harry to tell him where they were going but all Harry would say is that he hadn't been before. This made Teddy frown with thought, he had just come out of his second year at Hogwarts and was only twelve so there were lots of places he hadn't been but not many where he would think Harry would take him.

All his wondering ceased when Harry apparated him into the Potter household. Immediately he was assaulted by a six year old James who latched onto one of his legs and smiled and laughed up at him, behind James stood his brother Albus who was only four and he too smiled at Teddy but hung back slightly until Teddy knelt down to his level and hugged him. Teddy stood up smiling as he saw Ginny walk in through the Kitchen carrying her youngest Lily who was looking at all of the excitement with bright eyed curiosity. Ginny walked over and greeted him warmly as Harry looked at them made sure everyone had everything.

"Right, everyone ready to go?" He said looking around, "Let's go then!"

To Teddy's surprise they all walked out of the front door and got into the rather large family car that Harry had brought last year. It was rarely used and when it was it was usually because the place where they were going was muggle.

Twenty minutes in the car with Ginny already having to break up two fights between Albus and James she looked at Teddy thought the mirror in the front of the car and appeared deep in thought.

"You're going to have to change your hair, love," Ginny said looking at Teddy, " there's going to be muggles where we're going."

Screwing up his face in concentration Teddy changed his hair colour from the brightest blue to match Harry's and his eye colour to match Ginny's.

If he looked like a mix of the two of them people would just assume he was there son and that was always the easiest option. Ginny turned in her seat to look at him and smiled when she saw his appearance.

Throughout the car journey Teddy could feel his anticipation rising; he knew the place they were going was muggle and he had never really been to a place that muggles went to for fun; it was all new to him.

By the time they arrived at a car park Teddy was craning his neck to try and see where they were as was James.

Turning round in his seat after he'd parked Harry grinned at them,

"Who's up for a day at the zoo?"

~o~o~o~

The zoo it turned out was brilliant. So far they had spent the whole day walking around looking at the animals (the lions were Teddy's favourite so far) and after a morning walking around in sweltering heat they settled down in the shade and ate the picnic Ginny had prepared earlier. It was one of the best days Teddy could remember and he didn't want it to end.

After lunch a debate started up, Al wanted to go and see the penguins while Teddy and James both wanted to see the lions again. In the end Ginny ended up taking Lily in her pram and Al to see the penguins while Harry took Teddy and Al to see the lions again. They left with plans to meet back their in twenty minutes with the promise of ice cream.

When they reached the lion enclosure James had started to grumble slightly so with no further ado Harry placed him on top of his shoulders and soon James was giggling at the sight of the lions cubs playing.

Teddy had unintentionally wandered off to one side, not out of eyesight of Harry but just to get a better view. He stood there for what must have been five minutes before he turned to walk back to Harry.

Instead of being able to make his way back he found his path blocked by a rather old lady. She looked down at him through beady eye. She had sharp cheekbones for a lady of her age and a rather long neck. In her hand she clutched the hand of a boy around James's age if not youger who was blonde with chubby cheeks. She didn't say anything and just as he was about to make a break for it he heard Harry's voice behind him,

"We're gonna have to start making our way back to find Ginny if you want that ice cream-" Harry's voice died in his throat as he took in the woman in front of Teddy.

Teddy looked up curiously at his godfather whom he had never seen speechless before and was even more confused when he saw Harry standing there looking very guarded with his jaw set in a firm line.

The woman's eyes had widened almost comically when she saw Harry but instead of saying anything to him she turned her head as much as she could whilst keeping Harry in her eye line and yelled out one word,

"Vernon!"

TBC….

…

A/N- So this was taken from a prompt where the family goes to the zoo but as you can see I may have added something extra. Please review, there's nothing as heartening as knowing people read your stories, next part should be up soon, all the best-VE


	5. Chapter 5

_The woman's eyes had widened almost comically when she saw Harry but instead of saying anything to him she turned her head as much as she could whilst keeping Harry in her eye line and yelled out one word,_

"_Vernon!"_

Teddy couldn't understand it. As soon as the woman shouted that name his Godfather's face became, if possible, even more rigid and he placed a hand on Teddy's shoulder almost as if he were ready to draw him back at a moments notice.

Teddy eyed the mysterious woman curiously, she must have met Harry before to have such an effect on him but Teddy couldn't ever recall having seen her before.

Plucking up the courage to try and sate his curiosity Teddy opened his mouth to say hello to the woman, but before he could even form the words he was interrupted by an enormous man who was doing what for him must have been the equivalent of a run for him but looked more like a sad sort of amble. The man, like the woman, was old and his hair was completely white and considerably thinner than it must have been when he was younger.

"What happened Petunia? Are you alright? Is the boy alright? Was it-" The man who Teddy supposed must have been Vernon seemed to notice Petunia's lack of response and instead followed her eye line which was still fixated on Harry.

Vernon too, seemed shocked to see Harry, though he got over it faster than his wife and instead of looking stunned he fixed his most hostile glare at Harry and looked at him through narrowed eyes.

"You!" He said his face slowly beginning to tinge with an alarming shade of red, "You've got some nerve showing up here, mixing with normal people! What do you think you're-"

Teddy looked up at his godfather with wide eyes, he had heard people talk about Harry in a less than flattering tone but he had never heard such open contempt.

It was at this moment that Harry found his voice, "Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, it's been a while." He said in a dreadfully cold manner. There seemed to be some hidden message in his words that bypassed Teddy for the man that Harry had named his uncle went an even darker shade of red much to Teddy's surprise. He had trouble believing this man was related to Harry at all. Or the woman for that matter.

Vernon seemed temporarily unable to speak as he grappled for words but Petunia took the opportunity to look at Harry and the boy he held to his body. Over the years she had often wondered as to the fate of her nephew, never enough to openly seek him out, but it was the thought of him that often plagued her on quiet days or in the twilight time between waking and sleeping.

She couldn't help herself as she found herself staring at the boy who sat upon Harry's shoulders as if he belonged there and regarded her curiously and the older boy who so resembled the man who had once been her charge. It was the reason she had noticed him in the first place; when she saw him staring into the animal enclosure he looked so much like Harry that she was sure that she must have gone mad in her old age.

The boy resembled Harry so much that he must have been his son but it felt strange to Petunia to recognise that Harry had his own family now.

All of them were shaken out of their uncomfortable silence by another voice.

"Harry, there you are! I think we're going to have to make a move, Lily's just started to fuss and-"

Petunia looked up to see a woman with a familiar shade of red hair walking towards them with two more children, the younger child a girl who looked achingly familiar. Lily the woman had called her. At this point Petunia shut off that particular train of thought as she had leant to do so very long ago.

As Ginny drew level she smiled politely at the trio of strangers in front of her but spared a worried glance at her husband who was still looking particularly guarded.

Harry reached up and took James from his shoulders, James immediately shuffled behind his fathers legs and Harry made sure that Teddy was within his reach. He doubted that such caution was really necessary but the father within him told him it was better to be safe than sorry.

Ginny who watched this display bemusedly, took a step forward with her hand outstretched,

"Ginny Potter." She said as Petunia offered her a rather limp handshake and told her own name. As soon as she did she saw her mistake, understanding flashed through Ginny's eyes and was quickly followed by anger. Setting her jaw in a way that was not unlike her husbands Ginny took a step back, "Right," she said in a controlled voice, "time to go back to the car, I think."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Ginny turned, steering the children with her and leaving Harry to make sure Teddy followed.

However, as soon as Harry turned to move away Petunia's bony hand caught Harry's arm, much to everyone's surprise, including it seemed, her own.

"What are their names?" She asked with a silent plea in her eyes. She knew she would never have the chance to know or love these children, nor was she entirely sure that she wanted to, but it seemed somehow wrong to not even know their names. After all she was an old lady with not many relatives left to her; she was in no position to turn her nose up at family.

From the look on his face Harry seemed to understand this as he turned back and after a moment so did Ginny, if a little hesitantly. Petunia pretended she couldn't feel her husbands incredulous stare on her back.

"This is Lily," Harry said as he gestured to the little girl who so resembled Petunia's late sister, "and this is James," he continued as he showed the boy who seemed to become slightly braver at the mention of his name and even risked a little wave at the child that was obviously Dudley's son being taken out for a day trip. Harry went on to introduce another boy, younger than the first who hid behind his mother's legs but from what Petunia saw of him he could have been a carbon copy of Harry, "And this is my oldest Teddy." Finished Harry as he put a hand on Teddy's shoulder who once again felt irrationally happy to be introduced as part of the family and not a separate entity.

Vernon, who had been quiet throughout the entire exchange suddenly looked at Teddy through shrewd eyes, "How old are you, boy?" He barked.

Teddy, surprised at being addressed so suddenly answered automatically, "I'm twelve."

To his surprise this just seemed to agitate Vernon more as he looked at Harry in what seemed like a sort of triumphant disgust as though he had found something scandalous but was looking forward to telling everyone, "Seventeen? You had him at seventeen? Well I always knew that _your lot _were unsavoury, but for you to run off with the first _trollop-_"

Vernon never finished his sentence for two things happened at once that stopped him mid-breath.

Teddy, who had understood what this man was implying, had tried to reign in his temper but the moment that Ginny had been slighted his hair flashed a bright red to compliment the anger that had risen up inside him.

Before he could move, however, he found that Harry had dragged him back and had his hands clamped down on his shoulders.

The second thing was that stopped Vernon was how all of the colour drained out of Petunia's face when she heard Teddy's age. She could put two and two together. Twelve years since the war. Twelve years since that boy had most likely been made an orphan.

"I'm sorry." Those were the words that forced themselves through frozen lips before Petunia tugged sharply at her husbands hand and led him through the throngs of people leaving the Potter family behind them.

On the way back to the car the sun didn't seem half as bright nor as warm especially as Teddy pondered the events of that day. He knew that Harry was young when he came into his life but suddenly he wondered whether everyone thought the same as that man or whether-

His musings were cut short by his arrival at the car. He went to get in but Harry's hand on his shoulder stopped him, he looked around wondering what his godfather was going to say to try and make him feel better; somehow he felt that words weren't going to help much.

But as Harry looked at him he didn't say anything, instead he wrapped Teddy in such a hug that for a moment Teddy was quite sure that he couldn't breathe. When he was released Harry gave him a smile and climbed into the car and Teddy found that he was wrong. He did feel better.

….

A/N- Right, first off sorry for the delay. I hope you like this chapter as it took forever to right and even at the end of it didn't feel quite right. Anyway, please leave prompts, suggestions and reviews as they really do make my day, all the best- VE


	6. Chapter 6

When Teddy first got the message he froze. It was his instructor who was the one to reply saying he'd be right there and it was his instructor who was the one to kick him into action.

"It happens, son," He had said, his words gruff but his tone understanding, " You're going to have to get used it if you're going to stay on the auror program." With a jerky nod and wide eyes Teddy apparated and within the minute found himself striding purposefully down the sterile corridors of St. Mungo's. It didn't occur to him that he didn't actually know where he was heading so he counted himself lucky when he heard a familiar voice raised in a shout and he headed towards it.

"-Just tell me where he is!"

"Mrs. Potter, I don't know-"

"Well find out then!"

Teddy rounded the corner just in time to see a nurse walking hurriedly away from Ginny as she stood there all but ablaze with anger.

"Ginny?" He called out and cringed back slightly as she whirled around to face him, the rage still etched into her face.

It soon left her when she saw it was him and she walked forward and enveloped him in a strong hug. Hesitantly, he put his arms around her and hugged her back.

"What's happened?" He asked quietly.

Ginny let go of him and as she did so he saw her normally warm eyes swimming with tears, "He was out on a raid, he said it was just routine but when he got there they were ambushed and they couldn't call for back up… and- and-" Teddy pulled her back in for a hug as the words got to hard for her to say. She clung to him as she tried to get herself back under control but her former anger had drained away and it felt like it had taken most of her strength with it.

"How is he?" Teddy asked fearing the answer.

"Alive." Said Ginny flatly, "All they told me was that he got hit by a curse, they won't tell me how is, who did it, _where _he is."

"What about the rest of his team?" Teddy questioned trying to gather as much information as he could.

"Ron was with him," said Ginny, "but he's been sent home after a nasty hex. He's fine now though." She said quickly after seeing Teddy's face. "Harrison wasn't though. They've already sent someone to tell his family."

Teddy blanched at hearing this. Someone had died on Harry's team? It seemed like luck of the draw that it wasn't his godfather and just the thought of loosing him made him feel sick.

"Do Albus and James know?" He asked.

Ginny looked at him and Teddy could clearly see the worry and hope warring in her eyes, "I've sent word to the school but I don't know if they've been told yet, I left Lily round my mums-"

"Mrs Potter?" Ginny turned at the sound of her name to see the same nurse who she had sent scurrying away with her sharp attitude. "Would you like to see your husband?"

The next few minutes were spent navigating down an intricate maze of corridors and halls until they reached a plain white door. With an encouraging gesture from the nurse, Teddy walked in and was followed quickly by Ginny. What he saw unsettled Teddy deeply.

Laid out on the bed, completely unmoving, was his godfather. Harry was completely unconscious but even that didn't free his face from all the lines of pain and stress. Teddy could see quite clearly the way his deathly pale face was still pinched in pain despite the painkillers and potions. Not only that but it came as quite a shock to see Harry looking quite so… _old._

For as long as Teddy can remember Harry has always been a seemingly endless ball of energy. His childhood memories consist mainly of being taught to fly by Harry (it took quite some time seeing as it seems he posses absolutely no hand eye coordination), or days spent at the burrow where there was never a quiet moment. It felt achingly wrong to see Harry so still and unmoving.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ginny having problems with the sight of seeing Harry so broken but in no time at all she had drawn herself together and sat in the chair by the side of Harry's bed where she took his limp hand and held it tightly in hers. Teddy took his lead from her and sat down on the other side of his bed.

~o~o~o~

It had been three hours since they had first seen Harry and he had shown no difference. A patronus from Hogwarts had told them that James and Albus were desperate for news, but Teddy had none to tell. Harry was still unresponsive and although none of the healers had mentioned anything to him or Ginny he knew he wasn't imagining the uneasy glances they shared between themselves when they thought they were unseen.

Teddy spared Ginny a glance and saw that she had not awoken. Her head had lolled to one side half an hour ago and he just didn't have the heart to wake her.

So he just sat in the silence. The only thing was as he sat in silence with one hand holding the hand of his unconscious godfather it left him with far too much time to think, and all he seemed able to think about was the very real possibility that he might have already spoken his last to Harry. Just the thought caused a lump to form in his throat when he realised he couldn't even remember what he had said that could have been his very last words to the man who was practically his real father. He shook his head slightly to try and rid himself of such melancholy thoughts. Harry wasn't going to die. He couldn't be left by everyone in his life.

The last thought stuck in his mind. It was true. So many people had left his life already he didn't know what he would do if he were to lose another. Harry had explained to him when he was able to understand that his parents had died so that he could live a better life. He had understood but at the time it didn't stop the bitterness welling up inside him as he thought about how his parents had charged off to war, seemingly without a second thought for their infant son who lay forgotten at home. He knew better but it had still hurt.

The next to leave him was his grandmother.

She had passed away when he was fifteen; just five years ago. She had been a strict woman to live with but she had also been a kind soul and fiercely protective of him. He had loved her dearly and still missed her. It was the little things like how she would try not to smile when he managed to talk himself out of trouble or the way that she could tell when he was upset and would always have a cup of tea waiting for him.

But she was gone now.

Truth be told her loss had been more keenly felt than the death of his parents ever had. His parents were always just stories passed down from others or immortal images captured on film. His grandmother had been a tangible woman. She had looked after him, fed, watered, and comforted him and she was the only family he would openly admit to having. Her death had almost ruined him.

But once more it was Harry who had been there for him through thick and thin. He had taken Teddy into his house without a second thought and held him as he tried to hold back the tears for his grandmother. He didn't know who he would turn to if Harry were to leave him. He knew that the Weasley's would always be his family, blood or not, but they just weren't the same as Harry. They would all be mourning too and it wouldn't be right to expect any less from them.

His thoughts soon spiralled out of control until he was convinced that Harry was going to die; it therefore came as quite the shock to him when he felt the hand within his move. Teddy started and looked at Harry. Sure enough as he watched Harry's eyes opened blearily as he looked around the room before his eyes landed on the man sitting by his bedside.

"Teddy?" He asked his voice sounding terribly croaky and painful.

"Right here." He said in hushed tones so as not to wake Ginny just yet.

"Glasses?" Asked Harry weakly. Carefully, and oh-so-gently Teddy placed the glasses, which had been sitting on the bed side table, onto his godfather's face. He waited a few moments for Harry to adjust before asking the question that needed to be asked.

"How're you feeling?" He asked keeping his voice calm.

"Fine, fine. Really I am!" He defended against his godson's disbelieving look, "Maybe a little rough around the edges." He admitted, "But nothing that wont heal."

"That's… good." Said Teddy trying to speak through the lump that had formed in his throat. Harry gave no sign of noticing other than a quick but feeble squeeze of Teddy's hand.

"You look awful." Harry noted wryly.

Teddy supposed it must be true, he knew that he had returned to his normal features, it was impossible to keep a morph up under such conditions, but he let out a dry chuckle, "Have you seen a mirror lately?" He asked a familiar teasing tone creeping into his voice. Harry gave a half smile and a comfortable silence descended for a moment before Harry felt the need to break it.

"So," Harry began looking from Teddy to the still sleeping Ginny, "Are you going to tell me what happened or I am going to have to wake up Ginny to tell me?"

Teddy just smiled, it looked like Harry wouldn't be leaving him. At least not for today.

….

A/N- Thank you for reading and I hope you liked it! If you did (or didn't) please leave a review, I love to know what you, the readers, are thinking!

All the best,

VE


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